The Most Drool-Worthy Homes Of The Week, 2/4/15

Another excellent week into 2015 brings another crop of spectacular interiors and exteriors around the world. This time: a private rooftop cabin in the heart of the city, an artist's studio inside a 100-year-old Dutch tower, and a futuristic sanctuary in suburban Japan.

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Detached Rooftop Cabin

Athens, Greece (or anywhere really) Nothing beats a solid city view from a rooftop, and this perched wooden cabin allows you soak yours up in ultimate comfort even in inclement weather. It's also a retreat from the bustle down below, with a built-in bed, desk, and wood-slatted windows which provide adequate privacy from would-be voyeurs without ruining the vista.

Sunset Rock House

Nova Scotia, CanadaThis long and narrow coastal vacation home in Nova Scotia's southern region sits atop a set of concrete "fins" to protect from flooding. The cottage is also positioned along the rocks such that looking out from a few rooms might convince you you're floating off into the Atlantic. As its name would suggest, the views of the setting sun definitely don't suck. They rock, duh.

Room On The Roof

Amsterdam, Netherlands As part of a new installation hosted by Amsterdam's department store De Bijenkorf, this lofted 170-square-foot studio space was built into the building's rooftop tower, which hasn't been used in the last 100 years. The unfinished wood-soaked interior's tiered work spaces are connected via a classic spiral staircase, and will be occupied by a rotating roster of well-known artists, writers, musicians, designers, and architects.

House In Itsuura

Ibaraki, JapanThis single-story hillside home sits on a pair of flourishing wood slats, as though it might launch into the sky at any moment. The wooded surroundings provide plenty of natural privacy, but you'll feel even better knowing no one's looking in as the only windows to the outside are small and sporadically scattered. One of its greatest selling points comes at night, though, when it's illuminated from inside and out in a manner that looks as though the entire place is faintly glowing.

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Pergola

Saitama, JapanThis modern L-shaped home passes for an impenetrable black box to passersby, but reveals itself to be quite the opposite once you make it through the interior courtyard and upstairs. For privacy reasons, the first floor's exterior walls don't reveal much, but the open concept second story is defined by its semi-hidden floor-to-ceiling windows looking out down below, giving the sense that the relatively modest residence is a much larger self-contained compound.